Hidden, Invisible, Loved
by Dust in the Shadows
Summary: This fanfiction will be based on the Claymore anime & will be focused on Irene/Ilena during her time in hiding. This story will feature gore, swearing, slightly intimate scenes, mild nudity, dark themes will be mentioned, & LGBT themes. If any of this is not for you, please move along to another story.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Escape**

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The moon was high in the sky, so full and bright that you could see most of what was around you. There was no breeze that night. There was no sound from anything. There were just bodies of Claymores that lie just outside of a nearby town. Only one of the four was still alive. The only living Claymore woke hours after the attack of a former ally; Priscilla, who was now an awakened being. Her body was weak but she could still move about. Ilena no longer had her left arm now. She was, at this point, useless to the organization she served and they would likely come for her head. Valuing her life, Ilena became a deserter. She wasn't ready to accept death yet, especially after surviving an attack as brutal as this. Ilena stood on her feet using her broad sword to help support her. There was no one around to witness her still alive, so she had to leave quickly. She looked around and saw the bodies of the fallen. There was nothing she could do for them, most of all Teresa whose head was no longer attached to her body. Ilena checked her surroundings to make sure she was still in the clear before looking back to Teresa's body and noticing her head was nowhere in sight. It should still be next her. Why would anyone take it? Regardless, there was no purpose in having concern for Teresa, the murderer she was sent to kill in the first place. Ilena had to focus on herself and suppressing her yoki.

Though she needed medical attention, she would not go back to the town where she encountered Teresa. If she went back and there happened to be Claymores passing through questioning the residents for whatever reason, they could verify that Ilena was still alive. Before leaving, Ilena checked the bodies of the fallen for anything they were carrying on them; money, food or anything else that could be of use to her. Ilena was not one to loot bodies, but she was no longer attached to the organization that supplied her with needed money. There was no telling how much money she would need if the situation ever called for it. Once she finished, she began her journey. The best choice now was to get as far away from the town of witnesses as possible. Stumbling over the rocky surface was the easy part. Traveling along the roads would not be wise. If anyone passed her by on the road, they could at least verify a Claymore was near the area. Whether they could see her symbol or not, being seen was still a lead the organization and possible Claymores hunting her could use.

She looked around to see what direction was best to go in. She noticed mountains far enough for her to escape to, for a little while at least. Once Ilena reached there, she could really figure out what to do with herself. Heading that way in her current state would take more time than if her body was at full capacity; it would definitely take longer than a week or so to get there. From what she could see, there was no one traveling in the area she wanted to go, at least not now. Though, that could change.

Over time she didn't need to use her sword to support her, but she still didn't feel completely well. She kept thinking of Priscilla, the beast who took down Teresa. The beast that easily chopped off the arm of Ilena. The beast that eliminated the two other high ranked Claymores in mere seconds. All of this frightened the lone survivor. There was no way Ilena wanted to encounter her again when she couldn't even lay one hit on her in the first place. Her fear began to pass as new thoughts came to mind. How would she provide for herself? She couldn't exactly mosey into stores anymore if she needed anything. If so, she would have to make sure her face would be hidden and make sure not many people were around to see her. Where would be a safe place for her to go? She definitely couldn't live in a town. Her physical appearance stood out too much, mostly because she still had her Claymore uniform. Living alone was really the only option. Being alone was not an unfamiliar experience to a Claymore. Most civilians were afraid of them. Most of their travel time was spent alone unless there was a mission that needed to be fulfilled that required multiple warriors. They didn't really hold conversations with people either. Aside from a few sentences being exchanged, mainly pertaining to attacks or any information they needed, there was no personal interaction. How would she end up with proper shelter? Ilena didn't know how to build a house. There was a difference between a makeshift shelter and an actual living space. Surely things she needed would come to her in due time.

 _You mustn't stop until you're clear. Keep going. Your life depends on it._ She thought as she traveled to the mountains. Those mountains were her hope, her next step. Ilena became so focused on them she started to ignore her body. She had not eaten in a while. Her body hadn't had the proper time to actually recuperate. Being unconscious for a couple of hours was not enough. Ilena kept repeating to herself. _Keep going._ The mountains looked like they were getting bigger. _Keep going._ Her legs started to hurt. _Keep going_. Her body was becoming more fatigued. A forest at the base was becoming more visible now. _Keep going. Don't let anything stop you._ Her body was really starting to feel weak. She needed rest, but her determination to make it to that forest kept her going. _Keep going. You're almost there._ Dizziness started to set in. Her stomach kept grumbling. Her mouth was dry, so she finished off the last of the water she had with her. Slight headaches began to occur that made her stop every couple of minutes. _Keep going. Keep going. The forest is right there, just a little longer._ Once she reached her destination, Ilena collapsed face down just within the forest.

The wind was blowing, making a nice breeze. She could hear the leaves rustling in the wind. The calm environment helped Ilena relax her body for a little while. What was in the forest and over this mountain? When Ilena had enough energy, she was able to get up and draw her sword. If she saw any animals, they would be food. Ilena was being very observant of the area to see if it was frequently visited by people. The deeper she went, it was clear that this forest was only really occupied by animals. There were no human tracks from what she could see. This was certainly a good sign. She started to hear predators catch and kill their prey. Ilena could handle a few large animals, but majority of humans couldn't, so she hoped there were a number of predators lurking about. Just another layer of protection while she was there.

After a few hours of looking around, she noticed a path that was almost missed. From the looks of it, it was supposed to be hidden. It was a tunnel entrance that was large enough to have people walk though it and was partially covered by the vines growing around it. There was no reason not to go in considering all Ilena only wanted to explore the area. The tunnel was on a slight incline. Once she reached the end, there were more vines to move out of the way. Behind those vines was a beautiful, isolated valley with a lake and trees. Ilena also spotted a small cottage in the distance. There was a chimney, but it did not have smoke coming from it at the moment. There appeared to be no one around, but Ilena was careful upon investigating it. There was a small garden on the side she approached from. The plants were all wilted except for one tomato plant which luckily had quite a few tomatoes left on it. If someone was still here, they definitely were neglecting care of their crops. She peeked through the window nearest to her; no one was there. She decided to enter. It was a little sloppy and dirty from time. A few webs, dust, and some leaves that had gotten in from the door being open. The fireplace hadn't been cleaned for sometime. The bed there was in decent condition. Though, the sheets weren't at their finest and torn for some reason. If someone was attacked while in bed, it didn't make sense that there was not any blood. In fact, there was no sign of struggle either. The place was not a complete mess and would be an easy clean, so it didn't really bother Ilena.

Whoever was there before had long gone. Whether they would be back or not was the question. She went back to the little garden and when she saw the tomato plant again, her stomach growled quite loudly. Ilena picked off and scoffed down the tomatoes without thinking. She didn't even check to see if they had bugs on them. Her body hadn't had food for so long that it wouldn't even matter if she at a bug or two. She stopped when there were just 4 left. Now that she finally ate, she could pass out from a food coma and get some decent rest. Since the sheets were useless, Ilena tossed them outside. Ilena had her sword lean against the wall by the fireplace and laid down. Just before she fell asleep she thought, _I can finally rest now._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - What's Around**

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After her much needed rest Ilena took off the armor and shoes she fell asleep in. Her body still didn't feel back to its regular self yet. She stayed in bed for a little while longer before tidying up the place since she had nothing else better to do. For more light, there was a window by the bed that she pushed and propped open with a stick. It took a little while for her to sweep up, clean the ashes from the fireplace, and get rid of cob webs, but it wasn't too troublesome. She inspected the outside of her new home just to see if there was anything that needed to be repaired. Nothing seemed to be broken or worn out. The wood stack outside wasn't very high, but winter wasn't close, so she had plenty of time to stock up.

The garden that was there needed attention. Aside from watering it, Ilena didn't know how to save it. This was a good source of food, so she needed to have better knowledge of gardening. Everything from care to what she could grow here. Hopefully what she could learn would be through trial and error; just not with too many errors. The gardening tools she found weren't in the best condition but they were still usable.

Ilena found a few apple trees a little distance away from the cabin. They were all of decent size and seemed to yield enough fruit for her to survive on. The lake that was there was satisfactory in size. It looked clean enough to use the water for whatever reason. She circled the lake with her bare feet on the edge of the water. Ilena found it so peaceful here. It helped calm her nerves and clear her mind. She logically thought about her situation. This place she found was sufficient enough for housing but not so much for food. Not only did she need more than one food source, Ilena needed to learn about farming. The apple trees were good to have but if something happened to them, Ilena would be out of luck. At this point, there was a need to travel to some sort of town. Would she even be able to find one? If she did, Ilena would need to go unnoticed by most of the people. Then there was also the concern of trust if she got help.

On her way back to the cabin, Ilena came across another entrance. Upon closer inspection of it she noticed there was a number etched in the stone by it; four. Realizing this, Ilena spent time looking for the others. There were five total entrances and one of them blocked off from a cave in. Her security was important and luckily for her, all of the entrances were well concealed if someone every came through the area. They wouldn't think to look for tunnels behind thick over grown vines, hopefully.

One of the entrances had promise behind it. A tunnel marked three led to an overlook of a small town in the distance. If there was anything that Ilena could need, it would be there. She couldn't sense anything in that general direction so traveling there would be a good idea. For the next couple days Ilena ran down in her mind everything she needed. Sneaking in would be simple along with creeping around during the time people are heading home at the end of the day. The only problem was going from shop to shop for supplies during the day as a deserter wouldn't be wise. The next best thing would be to ask someone to run errands for her. Ilena went through most of her life as a warrior not having to rely on humans for anything. She would have to find a human she could trust to run errands for her. Likely at some form of cost but it would be worth the trouble.

It was dusk when Ilena arrived into town. She stayed hidden in the shadows of the alleyways. There were people out, but not many. Most of them seemed to be heading home or closing their shops. As Ilena scoped out the town's stores, she found two that she would need. First, she found a plant nursery, _The Green Thumb_ , but there were no lights so the owners were probably already asleep. The other store was _Magic Threads,_ which luckily wasn't very far from the nursery. This store likely just sold sewing materials, but if she had a chance to ask questions about them she would. She was in the alley next to the store when she saw that there was something left outside, some kind of small bin with scraps of fabric in it. Ilena saw that there were lights still on above the ground floor of _Magic Threads, s_ o she waited on the side of the building to see if someone would come for it. It didn't look very important, so the owner probably left it outside for anyone to take. After some time Ilena had decided to leave, she heard a door open. A rather short dark skinned woman came out. She looked tired and had a grumpy look on her face. Her hair was wrapped up in a red scarf and she was wearing what seemed to be her pajamas.

The young woman started digging through the bin looking for something. Ilena called out to her, "Excuse me," The woman jumped, almost knocking over the bin, and saw Ilena around the corner. Ilena looked straight into her green eyes. She had a startled look on her face. Ilena made sure not to act too suspiciously since she didn't want to alarm her. The young woman looked back and forth between Ilena and her sword. "Don't be frightened, I don't intend on using it. May I come inside to discuss business with you?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - The Taylors**

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Today was a busy day for the Taylor family. All throughout the day, their shop was occupied with costumers. Their shop was quite known in Bastia, a stimulating enough town for its residents and the people who passed through. Decent inns and shops that have been past down through families. Patrols were always around but as of late not in high number. Problems in Bastia didn't surface often but when they did, the situation would be dealt with as soon as possible to keep the people safe. The Taylor family was known for their skills when it came to sewing, leather working, and how to match fabrics for peoples needs. However, their skills didn't keep them from the stress of busy days. During days like this it was the older son at the counter, completing people's purchases quickly to clear out the store. His younger sister helped the customers with questions of types of fabrics they should get. Their father did a little of everything from answering questions to restocking the store.

Their day finally came to an end, the money in the register was counted and locked away, everything was cleaned and restocked. Once they made sure that everything was locked on the ground floor, they went upstairs to their home. Their grandmother had dinner ready for them after they had changed their clothes. Before they began to eat they noticed the son was flustered and was hastily looking for something, "Hey shorty, have you seen my keys?" he asked.

"No, did ya check the store?"

He groaned, "Come help me look for'em." He certainly wasn't going to ask their grandmother and if he asked their father, he would just order his sister to help anyway. The young woman followed her brother downstairs with no complaints. As much as she didn't want to help him, she also didn't have the energy to bicker to make him look on his own.

After the two searched the shop for a few minutes, the sister decided to check the bin outside full of fabric scraps, thinking the keys could have ended up there when they cleaned earlier. The bin appeared to be untouched since she last saw it. She worried a little when she didn't immediately find them. Just as she had her grip on the keys, she was startled when she heard a woman say, "Excuse me." The woman who spoke was just behind the corner of the side of their building. She had long silver hair, silver eyes and was rather tall. She carried a sword on her back as well. The young woman kept looking at it. "Don't be frightened, I don't intend on using it. May I come inside to discuss business with you?"

Her voice was soft when she responded, "I'm sorry, miss, but we're closed."

"I won't be able to come during the day. I'd greatly appreciate your help." The young woman thought for a second and gestured for the woman to come in. Her brother was caught off guard when he saw someone follow his sister into the shop. He didn't want to deal with someone after hours and attempted to get the woman to leave.

His sister didn't see the problem, there was no harm in seeing what she needed at the very least. "She said she couldn't come during our open hours, so I thought it would be fine to at least get her information. Plus we'll be closed for the next two days." She yawned, making her way behind the counter to get their log book.

"So what Lynn! We're closed!" They began to get into a small argument when their father came down the stairs to see why they were taking so long. The more the silver haired woman looked at him the more she noticed the two young adults looked just like him. He stood behind his children waiting patiently until they gave him their attention. He apologized to the woman for their behavior. He didn't mind her presence as long as she had the money to pay for their service, he could care less if she showed up during closed hours. The father properly introduced himself, "I'm Allen Taylor and these two nuts are my kids, Terrence and Lynnette."

"Sorry for any inconvenience I cause."

"You ain't causin' any at all." He made the two head upstairs for the night while he dealt with the stranger. The silver haired woman placed all the money she had on the counter for Allen to count. As he counted her money, he recognized her as a Claymore but like everyone else he didn't know much about them. Just hearsay from travelers that came and went. This is had to have been her first time here in town. Thinking back on the past few weeks, he hadn't heard anything about Claymores being in the area or there being any strange attacks. So it seemed odd to him considering the rumors say Claymores never appear unless there was problem. He questioned her business there like he would with anyone who came around.

Her expression and voice were calm, "I just need a few supplies and something to replace my clothes. After that I'll no long be a bother." Given her situation it would only be appropriate to mention, "Also, I would need for you and your family to not mention that you saw me here to anyone."

"Hmm, what do I gain from that? I mean, there is no guarantee that if we did so we'd be safe."

"Depends on the people of the town." Claymores knew they weren't welcome among humans majority of the time so it was very likely that the townspeople would take issue with someone being associated with one. In this moment, the easiest thing would be keeping her situation hidden from Allen. The hardest was that they both needed to have some form of trust between them. "I can only promise that harm won't come to you by my hand."

He offered for her to stay the night. If she truly didn't intend on causing harm then there should be no problem with her giving up her sword in exchange for the night. With there being no sign or sense of yoma and especially other warriors, she gave him her sword. He offered to make a small futon on the floor of the shop but she declined. He yawned, "We'll pick this back up in the mornin'." Allen made sure the shop was locked up with the curtains closed before heading upstairs with her sword and money which was enough to request whatever she needed. Maybe in the morning they could make an arrangement.


	4. Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Ilena was waiting on the owners to meet with her. She browsed the shop examining the items they had on display, her attention was drawn to the well-made clothes within the glass cases. She didn't really understand why for any occasion someone would wear something so extravagant. Fortunately, when it came to what they could do, the Taylor family seemed reliable so far. She heard someone coming down the stairs. When the door opened Ilena was greeted by the young woman from last night, "...Good Morning." Lynnette prepared to get the silver haired woman's measurements. Behind the counter she had all she needed; the store's log book, measuring tape and her sketch book. The young woman asked Ilena if she'd like anything to eat. At the moment, Ilena just wanted to focus on getting this out the way.

Being in the strange woman's presence made Lynnette feel a little uncomfortable, Ilena could tell. It was normal for Lynnette to be shy around people but this was a different situation. A woman with a strange appearance coming to their store at night and wanting to keep her presence unknown to anyone was a bit suspicious. As she was measuring Ilena, Lynnette couldn't help but to think, _I should have turned her away_. The only thing that was keeping the young woman's mind at ease was her father. If there was a problem he would have sent her off but for some reason he didn't.

When it came to what she wanted, Ilena specified to that none of the designs should have her symbol added, to have high collar and that she wanted dark fabric. Lynnette assumed Ilena wanted something similar to what she was already wearing. The seamstress had easily came up with different sketches Ilena might like. She had to keep in mind that Ilena had one arm so her designs would have to be simple to get in and out off. Terrence would be left with the task of designing what would hold her sword. He was far more familiar with leather work and weaponry than his sister so he could certainly make something practical for Ilena.

"When do you expect to complete everything?" She asked.

The young woman had to consider both her and her brother's time. They had patterns for everything she needed except the body suit which would be easy for the experienced seamstress to make. The part of the design that required leather work would take the longest. "Well, I think I could get done with my part in about four days but my brother with my help...mmm... I'm actually not sure. A little over two weeks maybe." Ilena would have to back for everything. It wouldn't be wise to stay during that time when people would be coming in and out of the store. She would stay until tomorrow night in case the seamstress needed her but would have to utilize her time now which meant asking another favor.

"If possible, could you retrieve any information about farming for me?" The young woman, a bit confused, nodded. _Why would she to know about farming?_ The young woman grabbed all she needed from the shelves and store closet to get started. All the items she gathered went on a slightly wider counter that was separated from the other by a gap. It was a space they used for laying everything out and cutting. Terrence came down to see how far along his sister had gotten with everything. He didn't acknowledge Ilena's presence, just went straight to grab his sister's sketch book. He was there to check the design his sister decided to make. Taking a separate sketch book, he quickly took all the information he needed and designed what would be made to hold on Ilena's sword. He noted on her sketches that for the cape that there would need be a slit added between the shoulder blades. The two had been working together from a young age, making how they interacted when working on commissions efficient. It was to a point that if a project or at least part it of was simple enough, they just communicated by added notes to each others sketch books.

Lynnette would start with the cloak then move to the body suit. Both were simple designs that didn't need to have many pieces cut for them. If she got through everything within a decent time, then at the very least, Lynnette could cut and stitch the leather pieces together for her brother. Terrence would be stuck adding on all the rivets and buckles by himself. Of course their father would help if he had the free time. While Terrence was gathering what he needed, Lynnette was thinking of she could ask Ilena. As much as she intimated the young woman with her strong presence, she did want to know more about her.

Terrence began heading upstairs reminding his sister to call for him if needed. His reminder wasn't about assistance but more so about his little sister's safety. Before he headed up, "uh... a little later... maybe around midday, Ilena wants us to get something for her." He groaned and went to let their father know. Terrence really didn't want to go on fetch quests for this random lady but the quicker they got through everything, the sooner she would be gone. His sister apologized for his behavior. Ilena wasn't bothered by it. "If you want," making eye contact with Ilena, "I have a book upstairs about plants and taking care of them. You can read it while we're out."

"I'd appreciate that."


End file.
